Group items tagged

The pharmacy chain has already announced plans to permanently close hundreds of its branches across the UK to consolidate its portfolio of 2,200 stores to 1,900. Two of its branches in North Wales will be closed next year, with its site in Rhos on Sea set to close its doors in March 2024 and the shop in Colywn Bay the following month. In a statement obtained by The Sun, Clwyd West MP David Jones has branded the closures "hugely bad news for the local community". He added that it is not "a case of simple shop closures," but "another body blow for the local retail economy." The Station Road shopping centre, where the Colwyn Bay store is located, has already seen the closure of several other prominent stores, including WHSmith, the MP stated. The closure of two Boots stores will leave many people "extremely worried as to how they will be able to obtain essential medicines," he added.

Boots UK to offer a free health MOT for over 40s in England between 1st April until 30th June to help eligible patients identify and take the right steps to address high blood pressure and the potential for increased risk of other health conditions. The Free Health MOT will give over 40s the information needed for them to take actions to support their overall health. It consists of a 15-minute appointment with a Boots pharmacist, during which they will receive- the NHS Blood Pressure Check Service, with GP referral if needed; optional BMI (Body Mass Index) and waist circumference measurement; lifestyle guidance on exercise, nutrition, sleep, mental wellbeing and stopping smoking; and personalised advice and recommendations . At the end of their appointment, patients will receive a booklet containing information about how to lead a healthy lifestyle and a section with the results of their MOT recorded. Claire Nevinson, Superintendent Pharmacist at Boots, said: "The Free Health MOT at Boots is intended to help people gain greater insight into their health and take the steps they need to improve it. As we get older, we become more vulnerable to conditions like high blood pressure, so it's important that we take steps to help stay healthy. The checks done during the MOT and the advice provided not only helps individual patients lead healthier lives but also reduces pressure on the NHS by offering accessible care in pharmacies at the heart of communities." The availability of appointments for a Free Health MOT at Boots comes at a time when new research indicates people want to lead healthier lives.

The life cycle management company, Pharmanovia, has appointed Nivedita Valentine as associate vice president of Product Innovation. Ms Valentine will oversee the company's product innovation operations and decision-making as Pharmanovia continues to focus efforts on both, identifying new prospects to enhance lifecycle management of its brands through incremental innovation. She will report to interim chief scientific officer Stephen Deacon and help bridge unmet patient needs with the help of novel therapies, originating both from in-house development and through partnerships. Ms Valentine currently holds positions on the value-added medicines committee within Medicines for Europe and the International Rare Diseases Research Consortium (IRDiRC) Task Force on Drug Repurposing Guidebook. Pharmanovia CEO Dr James Burt commented: "Digitalisation and utilising the latest technological innovation are notable areas of acceleration within the pharma industry and Nivedita's appointment will ensure iconic brands will continue to be improved, supported, and used sustainably.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) has appointed Neville Carter as its new chief education and membership officer. Neville joins RPS from the Royal Society of Medicine (RSM) where he is currently director of engagement, leading a team of over 60 and responsible for creating a combined directorate accountable for education, membership, philanthropy, and business development. He has, in particular, led on the development of a digital education strategy and launched professional development training programmes for members. Prior to joining the RSM, Neville worked as director of product and sales at the British Medical Association with responsibility for membership growth, supporting corporate transformation and developing and managing member benefits and relationships with third-party providers to support revenue growth. He also has senior manager experience at the RAC and at British Airways. Commenting on the appointment, Paul Bennett, RPS CEO, said: "I'm delighted that Neville will be joining our Executive team. He brings a wealth of relevant experience and this, in combination with a strong existing education and membership team at RPS and a clear ambition to strengthen the relevant functions further, will enable the organisation to deliver a dynamic offering for our members.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society has appointed communications agency to lead a review into how it can develop and strengthen member participation. "We've appointed communications consultancy Luther Pendragon to carry out an independent review of the participation of members and of our communications concerning decisions we take on behalf of the profession through our Governance boards," the Society said in a statement on Tuesday (May 10). It added that review would examine how RPS members, elected members and stakeholders can feel engaged, informed and empowered to influence decisions about RPS policy and understand why decisions around organisational policy have been taken on their behalf by elected representatives. It will also ensure RPS decision-making processes are open and transparent with an emphasis on evidence-based decision making, and recommend ways elected members are enabled to be publicly accountable for decisions taken by the organisation at Board and Assembly level.

The Home Affairs Committee has called upon the government to revise its current drug policy, moving away from the exclusive 'abstinence only' approach towards a more practical strategy that highlights harm reduction. The HAC's recommendations also include the introduction of a national naloxone programme in England, with community pharmacies playing a central role in facilitating access. The committee published its comprehensive report on August 31, with key recommendations, including the 'urgent' reclassification of psychedelic drugs for therapeutic research; a pilot safe consumption facility program (long resisted by the Westminster Government despite Scottish lobbying); and enhanced provision and research on cannabis-based medicinal products (CBPMs). The report urged the establishment of a national naloxone programme in England, aligning with devolved nations. It also highlighted the role of community pharmacists and peer initiatives for effective distribution and administration. Furthermore, the report emphasises enhanced naloxone distribution for prison leavers. Naloxone is a medication capable of rapidly reversing heroin or methadone overdoses, potentially saving lives.

A three-year contract has been signed between NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and Pharmaceutical Press, the Royal Pharmaceutical Society's (RPS) knowledge business, to continue the supply of trusted medicines information though MedicinesComplete, to healthcare professionals in Scotland. The renewed investment from NES demonstrates unequivocal confidence in the publisher and highlights Pharmaceutical Press' ongoing commitment to provide practical and evidence-based guidance, supporting those who prescribe, dispense, and administer medicines. Essential resources include Martindale: The Complete Drug Reference, Palliative Care formulary, Stockley's Drug Interactions and Critical Illness. Relied on by healthcare professionals globally for use in everyday practice, clear and concise guidance through MedicinesComplete supports confident decision-making at the point of care.

Pharmacists, along with workers from other public sector workplaces, marched on 8 September demanding that the Scottish government take all available action to mitigate the biggest reduction in living standards workers will have experienced for generations. Pharmacists Defence' Association (PDA) members participated in the Scottish Trade Unions Congress (STUC) march to let the government know that "Scotland demands better". Paul Flynn, PDA national officer, said: "Pharmacists will be unwelcomely familiar with diminished purchasing power and a squeeze on household budgets for patients, colleagues and pharmacists but what we will see this year and into 2023 will make previous experience pale by comparison." The march organised by STUC saw thousands of workers, activists and concerned individuals march through the centre of Edinburgh's Historic Old Town in good spirits while bearing flags and banners, chanting, singing, and calling for change in Scotland.

Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies has said pharmacists have been "struggling to obtain the very basic, most common cold and flu medicine." She told the PA news agency that the shortage wasn't around "just the branded medicines" but "also simple things like throat lozenges, cough mixtures or pain killers - particularly the ones that are soluble." Stating that the sector was finding it very difficult these shortages she said "those people who are in charge of supporting us with it are denying it." "The demand has been high because this season we've seen higher cases of colds and flu and people are obviously trying very hard to look after themselves and making sure that they use the relevant products to manage the symptoms.

The Pharmacists' Defence Association (PDA) has expressed disappointment at the omission, once again, of the promised Employment Rights Bill omitted from the Queen's Speech earlier this week. The Bill is pledged to strengthen day one employment rights and increase the productivity of businesses. It set out plans which would protect and enhance workers' rights and aim to make the UK the best place in the world to work at. This included plans to introduce the right to request flexible working for around 2.2 million people in Great Britain - regardless of time served in a bid to modernise the way employees work. The PDA said: "The Employment Rights Bill would have presented an opportunity to improve the ability for workers to obtain redress in the event of poor treatment or discrimination through the development of a single labour market enforcement body. "Poor employment practices, such as insecure work through long-term zero-hours contracts, unilaterally changing workers' terms and conditions by terminating their contracts and re-hiring them on new terms and conditions (also known as fire and rehire), and the sacking of workers without notice, as recently demonstrated by P & O Ferries, could have been outlawed under new legislation."

A pharmacist based in the East Midlands of England plans to run 150 kilometres during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan to raise funds for an international food charity. Shahid Akhtar from Rainworth, Nottinghamshire started running five kilometres each day from March 23 "from about an hour before sunset and the time I can break my fast." So far, the 50-year-old locum pharmacist who used "to own and run a community pharmacy not so long ago", has managed to run 55 kilometres and has already raised a total of £2,173 for the cause. By the end of Ramadan, Shahid aims to exceed his personal target of raising £2,500 to help feed children around the world. He says the money raised through him will go towards providing school meals for children and young people in neglected communities around the world through Charity Right. Shahid will run everyday without consuming any food or water before, during, or immediately after the race. Having never run whilst fasting before, he thinks this will be an "interesting new experience" for him.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) has invited views of healthcare professionals and others to tackle the six major health conditions which drive-ill health and contribute to the burden of disease in England. The six major health conditions - cancer; cardiovascular diseases including stroke and diabetes; chronic respiratory diseases; dementia; mental ill-health and musculoskeletal disorders - affect millions of people in England with data showing that one in four suffer from two or more of these major long-term conditions. Recognising the pressure these conditions are putting on the NHS, the government is seeking views on a new strategy to tackle them that will focus not only on treatment but also on prevention. Government is particularly interested in hearing from those who suffer from, care for or provide treatment to people who suffer from multiple long-term conditions. This is to ensure the Major Conditions Strategy is one that will better prevent, diagnose, manage and treat these conditions. Contributions are also encouraged from those working in NHS bodies, local government, the voluntary and community sector, and wider industry, on how best to tackle suffering from one or more of these major conditions. Particularly, it is seeking perspectives on how government and the NHS can work better together with different organisations and sectors to improve the nation's health.

The NHS Confederation has urged the government to reconsider its 'living with Covid' plan and introduce mitigating actions that will help avoid further critical incidents being declared at the NHS front-line. The organisation said the high rates of Covid is having a major impact on the delivery of health services and slowing down efforts to reduce large waiting lists, noting that the country has been in the grip of another spike in Covid cases resulting from the Omicron BA.2 variant. With more than 20,000 patients now in hospital with Covid (or who have Covid but are in hospital for other reasons) and high staff absences, NHS is facing huge operational challenges, harming efforts to reduce waiting times in other areas, it said.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Director for Scotland Clare Morrison participated in the panel discussion alongside representatives from other health professional organisations on tackling the workforce crisis at the SNP conference in Aberdeen on 8 October. At the conference, the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care committed to achieving protected learning time for health professionals. Morrison welcomed the Cabinet Secretary's statement as fantastic news for pharmacists across Scotland. "RPS Scotland will follow up the discussion by writing to the Cabinet Secretary to request a meeting to discuss achieving protected learning time, the forthcoming results of our workforce wellbeing survey, and positive examples of how pharmacy teams have improved the well-being of their teams," said the society.

A community pharmacist who supplied a drug addict with "under the counter drugs" has been jailed for 18 months. Dushyant Patel, 67, a London pharmacist with more than 40 years' experience, had supplied class C drugs to a drug user in Norwich for months in 2020. Police identified Patel as a suspect four months after the death of drug user, Alisha Siddiqi, whose body was found at a property in Colossus Way, Costessey, in August 2020. An initial post-mortem examination was inconclusive, but toxicology results later showed she died from an overdose of prescription medication. An analysis of her phone revealed that she had frequent communication with Patel between January and August 2020. Class C drugs sold without prescription There was also communication regarding transactions relating to the sale of prescription drugs including class C drugs, without a prescription, namely Zolpidem and Zopiclone. Patel was identified as a suspect and later charged with drugs offences. He was jailed at Norwich Crown Court in December after a trial in August when he was found guilty of two counts of being concerned in supplying a controlled drug between March and August 2020.

The Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) Director for Scotland, Clare Morrison will be joining NHS Scotland in January. Morrison has been appointed Director of Community Engagement at Healthcare Improvement Scotland. Paul Bennett, RPS CEO said: "Many people, particularly in Scotland, will know of Clare's passion for quality improvement and patient involvement in the co-design of services. This was demonstrated through her previous work on the development of Near Me, NHS Scotland's video consulting service, and its co-design with the public, patients, clinicians and NHS staff which gained international recognition from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement. "Therefore, this is an exciting opportunity for Clare to join Healthcare Improvement Scotland to take on a strategic leadership role in supporting effective community engagement across health and social care in Scotland. It also enables Clare to make even greater use of her training as an NHS Scotland Scottish Quality & Safety Fellow and we wish her every success in her new role.

The government on Wednesday (March 2) announced an investment of £260 million to support research, development and manufacturing of new drugs, devices and diagnostics. Of the total funding, up to £200m has been allocated for research to better access NHS data through Trusted Research Environments and digital clinical trial services, enabling availability of crucial data with the highest levels of privacy. This will allow the NHS to deliver new life-saving treatments to patients, tackle health inequalities and improve patient care, a government release stated. The remaining £60m will support commercial-scale manufacturing investments by companies at the leading-edge of innovation, from cell and gene therapies and earlier and better diagnostic technologies, to medical devices. The funding for manufacturing investments will be distributed through the new Life Sciences Innovative Manufacturing Fund (LSIMF), following the success of the earlier Medicines and Diagnostics Manufacturing Transformation Fund.

The Digital Medicines Transformation Portfolio (DMTP) was able to deliver the electronic prescription service (EPS) in Wales - just 20 months after starting the project - with support from key partners in the NHS and industry. Patients in Rhyl were the first to benefit from the new service, which allows GPs to send prescriptions electronically to the patient's choice of community pharmacy, without the need for a paper form. The new EPS service is currently in a live testing phase, with a phased roll out across Wales expected from January 2024. DMTP, which is hosted by Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) has worked closely with NHS England, who provided the core EPS platform that has been developed for use in Wales. NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership has also made a major contribution in the project, incorporating digital reimbursement to pharmacies and putting security measures in place.

Opella Healthcare, trading as Sanofi Consumer Healthcare, said it has entered into a dual partnership agreement with Alliance Healthcare and Phoenix Healthcare Distribution for the wholesale supply of its products to UK pharmacies. In effect from the start of February, the new dual partnership will ensure Sanofi Consumer Healthcare 'continues to provide its customers with exceptional customer service', the company said, adding that the increased efficiency will facilitate improved service levels and stock availability of Cialis Together, Allevia, Buscopan, Dulcolax and Phenergan to community pharmacies in the UK. "At Sanofi Consumer Healthcare we are committed to supporting the self-care agenda in the UK," Nick Linton, head of UK country operations, commented. "Making healthcare as simple as it should be to bring health and wellbeing to all is a key priority for us in 2024 and beyond. Our new wholesale model reflects our deep commitment to working as efficiently as possible in close partnership with pharmacists to shape a healthier future."

STADA has appointment Nigel Stephenson as General Manager UK with effect from 1 August 2023. Based in Huddersfield, UK, Stephenson will report directly to STADA's Head of Western Europe and Germany, Stephan Eder. He will take over from Rudolf Bär, who has successfully led the UK business for almost one year in addition to his responsibilities for STADA's Mid-Sized European Markets.| A dynamic and modern commercial leader with extensive experience in sales and marketing across Western, Central and Eastern Europe, and the UK in leading pharmaceutical, consumer healthcare and fast-moving consumer goods companies. He joins STADA from consumer healthcare leader Haleon, where he most recently served as General Manager Switzerland. "With his strong people and results orientation, along with deep purpose-driven engagement, Nigel will support our UK team in realizing its full potential through innovative and inclusive leadership," stated Eder.